Brown v. Board of Education Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

Brown v. Board of Education | 347 U.S. 483 (1954)

Linda Brown had to travel a mile every day to get to her non-white school, even though she lived nearby a white school. The Browns attempted to enroll Linda at the white school but were turned away, as were several other African American families. In Brown v. Board of Education, a group of 13 parents, including Linda’s dad, Oliver Brown, sued the Topeka School Board on behalf of their 20 children in federal district court, alleging that segregation deprived them of equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment.

A panel of three district court judges ruled for the school board, finding that the facilities for African American students were largely equal to those for white students. The court cited the 1896 Supreme Court precedent Plessy v. Ferguson, which validated separate but equal accommodations in public transportation, but acknowledged the detrimental effect segregation had on non-white children.

Brown appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted certiorari and consolidated Brown with four other cases from South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and the District of Columbia to determine whether state-sponsored racial segregation in public schools could continue. The plaintiffs were representatives of African American children who were refused admission to white public schools under existing racial segregation laws.




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